Martial Saint with Passives

At the same time, nourished by this torrent of energy, his Divine Soul grew significantly stronger!

The first acupoint was cleared!

The moment the Qihai Acupoint was cleared, a Dharma Gate long sealed within the depths of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique—one that could only be comprehended by a Martial Artist who had embarked on the path of Refining Spirit—surfaced in his mind like a sudden epiphany!

The final form of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique—

"Azure Dragon Annihilation!"

A massive stream of information flooded his consciousness.

This technique was completely different from any Fist Technique he had ever learned!

It was no longer a simple technique for applying Strength. It required using Divine Thought as a guide to compress and condense all the Strength in his body, along with a sliver of his own Martial Dao Will, into a single point, then unleashing it all in one explosive instant. It was an incomparably powerful and tyrannical... destructive technique!

Jiang Che was instantly reminded of Gu Qingxuan’s "Lingxiao Celestial Fall," a technique that seemed capable of felling the very stars!

He remembered Qin Wuya’s "Celestial Spirit Destruction: Unrivaled," which simulated the power of True Qi to shatter all methods!

He finally understood.

His own Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique also possessed an Ultimate Technique of this caliber, one befitting a Half-Step True Master!

The only catch was that the threshold for this technique was Refining Spirit!

It could only be controlled once one’s Divine Thought had been born!

...

For the next half a month, Jiang Che poured nearly all his focus into comprehending and cultivating the technique, Azure Dragon Annihilation.

「In the Level A Cultivation Room.」

Jiang Che’s eyes were slightly closed as he mentally simulated every detail of the ultimate technique.

’Use Divine Thought as a guide, gather the body’s full power into a single point...’

It sounded simple, but putting it into practice was next to impossible.

Divine Thought was a completely new power he had just encountered. It was ethereal and illusory, making it incredibly difficult to control.

He had to use this Divine Thought, as fragile as a newborn, to command the immense Strength in his body, which raged like a violent river.

The difficulty was no less than asking a child to wield a sharp blade.

The slightest mistake would cause the violent Strength to backlash against his Divine Thought. At best, it would result in a splitting headache; at worst, his Divine Soul would be damaged, and he would become a drooling idiot.

On his first attempt, the moment he guided out a mere sliver of Strength, the power instantly spiraled out of control and rampaged through his meridians. If not for his formidable physique, he would have suffered serious internal injuries on the spot.

But Jiang Che was not discouraged.

He possessed the complete inherited insights of True Master Bai Yi. It was as if a Great Power of the True Mastery Realm was personally guiding him, analyzing every pitfall and pointing out every shortcut.

Besides, he had the Skill Proficiency Panel.

Every practice attempt increased his Skill Level by a small amount.

[Azure Dragon Annihilation Skill Level +10]

[Azure Dragon Annihilation Skill Level +12]

[Azure Dragon Annihilation Skill Level +11]

[Azure Dragon Annihilation Skill Level +9]

...

He tried again and again, and he failed again and again.

From being unable to control it at the beginning, he progressed to barely managing a single wisp of Strength...then to simultaneously commanding tens, even hundreds of wisps of Strength...

Finally, on the morning of the fifteenth day of his secluded cultivation.

[Azure Dragon Annihilation Skill Level +10]

[Ultimate Technique: Azure Dragon Annihilation has been mastered!]

’I succeeded!’

Jiang Che’s heart leaped with joy.

Afterward, he went deep into a deserted, dense forest on the back of the mountain.

Facing a rock face, Jiang Che slowly performed the classic opening stance of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique.

All of a sudden, his entire aura seemed to vanish!

In an instant, the vast Peak Strength of the Refining Organ Realm within him, as immense as an ocean, seemed to be completely devoured by an invisible black hole.

He slowly raised his right hand, index and middle fingers held together, and gently pointed at a massive green boulder in front of him, one the size of a carriage.

"Azure Dragon... Annihilation!"

There was no earth-shattering roar, nor was there a brilliant, dazzling flash of light.

Only a single point...a single point of such pure, absolute blackness that it seemed to devour all light!

That point of blackness erupted from his fingertip, silently crossing the space between them.

PFT!

An extremely faint sound, like tearing silk, rang out.

A fist-sized hole had suddenly appeared in the center of the incomparably hard, massive green boulder, piercing it clean through!

The edges of the hole were perfectly smooth. The extreme energy compression had even vitrified the rock, giving it a glassy texture from which wisps of green smoke now rose.

Jiang Che stood in place, panting heavily.

That single technique had consumed nearly forty percent of his body’s Strength!

But as he looked at the massive boulder, which had been pierced as easily as tofu, a flicker of shock flashed in his eyes.

’This power...’

He roughly estimated that while the power of this Azure Dragon Annihilation wasn’t yet comparable to the wide, sweeping force of his Eighteenfold Strike...

...its level of energy concentration and Armor-Piercing Ability were even greater!

Most importantly...

’But what if... I combine the Twentyfold Strike with Azure Dragon Annihilation?’

The moment the thought appeared, it spread like a wildfire that could not be contained.

He immediately swallowed a precious Divine Crane Pill, restoring his condition to its peak.

Then, he raised his finger again. This time, he aimed at a steep cliff face over a hundred feet high in the distance.

This time, he not only mobilized his Divine Thought, but also mentally recited the two words that represented his strongest trump card.

’Twentyfold Strike!’

"Azure Dragon... Annihilation!!!"

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!

In that instant, Jiang Che felt as if his entire arm was about to be blown apart by the indescribably violent power! A sharp, tearing pain shot through his meridians.

All the Strength in his body, including the portion he had just recovered, was completely drained in an instant!

A wave of unprecedented weakness washed over him.

And at his fingertip, that point of blackness grew deeper, purer, and more... terrifying.

The moment that point of blackness erupted from his fingertip...

ZZZZZT—!

A destructive beam of light, as thick as an arm and as black as ink, flashed past, carrying an aura that seemed capable of annihilating all existence!

There was no earth-shaking explosion, no world-shattering roar.

There was only... ultimate penetration and annihilation!

When Jiang Che looked up again, he saw that a circular hole, about half a meter in diameter and bottomlessly deep, had been bored into the distant cliff face that stood over a hundred feet tall.

The edges of the hole were just as smooth as a mirror. The rock had been completely vaporized and was still radiating scorching heat.

Jiang Che stared blankly at the scene he had created, his heart pounding with shock.

This attack didn’t produce a spectacle as grand as an Arrow fired from the Star-Chasing Bow, but the ultimate piercing and destructive ability it contained—the power of compressing everything into a single point—made his own heart palpitate with fear.

’This power...’

It was far, far stronger than an Arrow shot from the Star-Chasing Bow!

’It’s practically... a laser cannon!’

If this hit a person...

Jiang Che had no doubt that even someone wearing a top-tier Defensive Treasure Artifact like the Golden Scale Armor would likely be injured.

He even had a faint feeling that if he caught someone by surprise with this technique...

...even a true expert who had just stepped into the True Master Realm would be in for a world of hurt if they were hit in a vital spot!

...